Doug Meacham Updates Oklahoma State Quarterback Situation Going Into Texas Tech

STILLWATER – It appears Oklahoma State is getting closer and closer to have quarterback Zane Flores back from injury. While there’s no official timetable for return, interim head coach Doug Meacham gave an update on the situation during his weekly press conference on Monday.

“Well, still a little early there in terms of that part,” Meacham said of Flores’ return, “We'll find out a little bit more today, once we can see some arm swings. And so, to answer that question, I don't know yet. I think once we get down, Zane has come a long way, but we'll know probably a little bit more about that part once we get through practice. There's nothing that says it can't be a two-quarterback platoon situation, or it could be Sam all the way, or could be Zan all the way. We gotta figure that out. He made some great wild plays, and he's really good with his legs. And then at the same time, he made a couple mistakes there that were pretty catastrophic. But I think overall, in his circumstance, there's probably not a whole lot of guys that could do if he's coming from receiver to quarterback starting. I'd like to see who that is in this entire country that comes out and kind of performs at that level, coming as a guy that's been a receiver for two years, so we just got a limit. A couple little things. Took his eye off a snap. The pick six was, I don't know that that was a phenomenal route. Receivers are a little bit lazy at the top of the route and maybe a little bit late. But, you know, he had a couple things in there that weren't good, but for the most part, you gotta admire what he's done with a limited amount of time at a position that's, you know, there's not an eye in the stadium or on either sideline. It's not on you every snap to do the right thing. So, I'm pleased.”

The Cowboys haven’t had a normal quarterback situation since the first game of the season against Tennessee Martin. Transfer Hauss Hejny got the start and left the game early with a Jones fracture, which left Zane Flores as the starter and true freshman Banks Bowen as the No. 2. 

Flores left the road game against Arizona with an upper body injury, leaving just Bowen, which prompted the switch of wide receiver Sam Jackson V to starting quarterback. Jackson V spent the first two seasons of his college career as a quarterback at TCU and Cal. 

Since taking over at QB, Jackson V has gone 25-of-46 for 310 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He also has one rushing touchdown, which came this past weekend. 

As for Flores, he was 77-of-140 for 696 yards with three interceptions before his injury. 

Bruce Waterfield/OSU Athletics

Flores running the ball against Arizona.

Jackson has been a solid fill-in at quarterback and has had a couple of pretty decent throws under duress.

“He's made some wild throws like it comes out,” said Meacham. “It comes out at a rate that's, I mean, I haven't seen too many eyes that trigger the ball like that. If you notice the flight of the ball and the rotation of it, it's tight, it's light, there's a lot of rotation on that ball, and it has probably something to do with his hand size, but he's an accurate thrower. It's just like anything though. I mean, you haven't done so in a while, you're gonna have moments where it's not great. But yeah, he's made some. One of the best throws, I think, was a comeback route. We ran a trick play. He was a receiver, and we handed it to him. He reversed it out. We threw a comeback coming out of our own side. That was a great throw. But I think he's just going to get better, more confident. I think the team sees the caliber players kind of built into.”

Flores was questionable throughout this week and then a game-time decision for Cincinnati. The Cowboys are out on the road this Saturday as they’ll face No. 14 Texas Tech.